Sunday, 13 March 2011

I was interested to read that Mark Cueto, Sales Shark and England wing, is a chocoholic and that he and the team are fat tested before a match. To maintain his weight he wears extra clothing when training to sweat the excess fat off. You see chocolate is good for you!

Milk Chocolate Easter Egg Winner - I was amazed to discover that Tesco beat off the likes of Chococo and Rococo in a tasting conducted by the Good Housekeeping Institute. Tesco's Finest Belgian Milk Chocolate Easter Egg with Clotted Cream Fudge and Honeycomb scored 82 out of a possible 100 and is priced at £7.00. Apparently GHI experts tasted 68 chocolate eggs ranging in price from £1.20 to £16.00. The winning egg tasted delicious and was a great size for sharing. This is a farce! C'mon who in their right mind shares their chocolate? If you want to know more about Easter Eggs there is a dedicated review site, click here.

Ok, back to reality having experienced the highs of Ben Rasmussen's handmade chocolate from Costa Rica we're heading closer to home to taste a Thornton's block. I must remain objective and not judge a book by its cover. According to Thorntons this particular bar was awarded bronze by the Academy of Chocolate for best flavoured chocolate 2009. Michel Roux is their patron. In 2009 some entrants commented on the lack of impartiality as many of the top awards went to sponsors of the competition. I wonder if this approach has changed?

I like the little 'factoids' that Thornton's put on the back of their blocks, "sometimes the Italians add a pinch of salt to their coffee to take away the bitterness and enhance the flavour."

Macadamia nuts are predominantly exported from Australia. In comparison to almonds and cashews, macadamias are high in fat and low in protein. But without getting too technical the fat is beneficial.

The Chocolate: This is a dark chocolate from the Dominican Republic with a cocoa content of 60%. As you open the packet your receptors are met with a fruity cocoa aroma which light and pleasant. The chocolate melts quickly to reveal the caramelised salted macadamia. The nuts produce a lovely crunch quality to the chocolate. The nuts have not been over salted and this works well with the dark slightly sweet chocolate. I for one have been converted to macadamia nuts these are so much better than the waxy types that I've tried before. There is also a good spread of nuts throughout the bar.

In terms of scoring this dark chocolate was a little sweet for me but there is no doubt that this is an enjoyable bar of chocolate and I'm happy to award a score of 7/10. These blocks are great value for money and I managed to pick up 3 (70g) for £5.00.

I've been eating bits of chocolate this evening and it is tasting even better!